So did the Australian Labour party win or lose?

A few weeks ago I wrote an article indicating that the Australian Labour Party had lost the election. Today they were given the mandate to form the government given the support they received from two independents.

The key question is – did they win or lose? From a brand perspective, the answer can be found in the results of this poll run by the Sydney Morning Herald today. the question – did the Independents make the right decision? Yes – 36%. No – 64%.

In my mind the issue has never been more clear. Labour lost, and they did because of the way they treated their colleagues. In a way that was inconsistent and that went against the grain of their audience in every way conceivable.